Boar, from the series "Twelve Signs of the Zodiac"

Boar from the Twelve Signs of the Zodiac is the i (boar) plate from Seihō's zodiac album, depicting a sleeping wild boar (inoshishi) in tall grasses with a village visible in the distance. The Japanese Art Open Database describes the print as 'one of his most famous' in the album sequence — the boar was a Kyoto-school favorite, traditional in autumn and winter compositions, and Seihō's brush handling of the bristled coat is among the most virtuosic moments in the series. The plate is in the extra-large woodblock format used for several album sheets (approximately 53 by 39 cm) and renders the animal in dilute [sumi](/glossary/sumi) wash with subtle color accents, the village in the background sketched in light grey line to provide spatial context without competing with the foreground figure. The boar year (i-doshi) is the last of the twelve animals in the East Asian zodiac cycle, and the print would have been given as a new-year gift in the artist's name. Seihō's red signature-seal anchors one corner. The composition exemplifies the late-Meiji and Taishō Kyoto-school approach to subject matter that combined a traditional zodiac frame with the kind of close naturalist observation that Bairei had instilled in his pupils. Multiple printings of the album survive; this impression preserves strong color and brush detail.